Shreyas Iyer produced another innings of quality (74 not out) that guided India to a thumping seven-wicket win in the second and penultimate T20I at the picturesque Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala on Saturday. This follows his unbeaten 57 in the series opener in Lucknow.

The victory also secured India the series, their seventh on the trot at home, while they extended their T20I winning streak to 11. Sunday’s third and final game at this venue is now of academic interest as India have an unassailable 2-0 lead.

Unfazed in spite of India losing both captain Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan inside the Powerplay, Shreyas continued to back his natural game and kept the scoreboard ticking.

Sri Lanka, put in to bat, rode on late exploits from opener Pathum Nissanka (75) and captain Dasun Shanaka (47 not out) to post a commendable total of 183 for five.

With Sanju Samson, who was dropped at deep square leg on six, beginning to look confident, Shreyas changed gears a little bit and took calculated risks that ensured the asking rate never became too high for India.

With the pitch easing out and Shreyas looking solid at one end, Samson settled down. Soon, Samson clobbered Lahiru Kumara for three sixes and a four in the 13th over that swung the momentum in India’s favour.

The third-wicket partnership between Shreyas and Samson yielded India a vital 84 and put the pressure back on Sri Lanka, who were simply atrocious in terms of their ground fielding.

A brilliant catch at the slip cordon sent Samson (39) back, as India then needed 56 off the last seven overs. But Ravindra Jadeja (45 not out), promoted up the order again, churned out some superb shots, taking full advantage of the strange field placings. Shreyas and Jadeja finally took India home with 17 balls to spare.

India’s bowlers conceded as many as 72 runs off the last four overs, which propelled Sri Lanka to a commendable total of 183 for 5.

Nissanka was sedate initially but once Shanaka arrived at the middle and looked confident right from the onset, it rubbed off on Nissanka.

Gaikwad ruled out

Top-order batter Ruturaj Gaikwad has been ruled out of the ongoing series. Gaikwad had complained of pain in his right wrist joint ahead of the first T20I.

Mayank Agarwal has been added to the squad.